2007 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Clos des Papes Paul Avril et Fils

Vincent Avril flirts once again with perfection and the flirtation, with each passing year, seems to get more and more serious. Harmony is all; the union between the Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre is strong, with an innate richness ceremoniously fêted by silky tannins.

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Scores and Reviews

JANCIS

19.5/20

PARKER

98/100

JANCIS - Strong, ripe purple fruits plus a hint of gaminess on the nose. Great beautiful richness on the palate. Sumptuous and glorious but not hot. 25 hl/ha – wonderful supple tannins. Great directions. Probably best decanted. But much more evolved than 2005, for example.Jancis Robinson - jancisrobinson.com - 17-Nov-2014

PARKER - I believe the 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape is the greatest Clos des Papes I have ever tasted! The 2007 reveals all the characteristics that make Clos des Papes so special, including extraordinary elegance, remarkable complexity in the black raspberry, kirsch, truffle, meaty, Provencal herbaceousness, full-bodied palate, voluptuous, silky tannins, and mind-boggling richness and length...The vintage’s cool growing conditions have given the wine a freshness to go along with its substantial size and power. This monumental Chateauneuf is a tour de force in winemaking. It should evolve along the lines of the 1978, only the 2007 has more to it, so expect it to last at least 30 years. Not to be missed!(Robert Parker - Wine Advocate - Oct 08)

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The Producer

A father-and-son team, Paul and Vincent Avril run the firm and are already established as one of the very finest wine making-partnerships in the southern Rhône. The domaine's situation is not helped by having plots of vines scattered throughout the area, but this does mean that they can spread the length of harvesting over a longer period of time and get the very best from each of their sites.

The blend, though this will vary annually depending on conditions, is predominantly Grenache (65%) with the remaining being made up of Mourvèdre, Syrah and a tiny amount of Counoise. Châteauneuf-du-Pape comes in many guises, its popularity has led to unscrupulous merchants driving prices up, and therefore quality down, to achieve light, thin wines that are frequently part-vinified by the carbonic maceration process more often seen in a Beaujolais.

To find the true character of these wonderful wines which age so well, one has to search out the dedicated growers such as the Avrils.

Other wines by this producer:

The Grape

The vast majority of wines from the Southern Rhône are blends. There are 5 main black varieties, although others are used and the most famous wine of the region, Châteauneuf du Pape, can be made from as many as 13 different varieties. Grenache is the most important grape in the southern Rhône - it contributes alcohol, warmth and gentle juicy fruit and is an ideal base wine in the blend. Plantings of Syrah in the southern Rhône have risen dramatically in the last decade and it is an increasingly important component in blends. It rarely attains the heights that it does in the North but adds colour, backbone, tannins and soft ripe fruit to the blend.

The much-maligned Carignan has been on the retreat recently but is still included in many blends - the best old vines can add colour, body and spicy fruits. Cinsault is also backtracking but, if yields are restricted, can produce moderately well-coloured wines adding pleasant-light fruit to red and rosé blends. Finally, Mourvèdre, a grape from Bandol on the Mediterranean coast, has recently become an increasingly significant component of Southern Rhône blends - it often struggles to ripen fully but can add acidity, ripe spicy berry fruits and hints of tobacco to blends.

The Region

Châteauneuf-du-Pape is the largest and most important wine appellation in the southern Rhône. It is home to more than 3,200 hectares of vineyards and over 80 growers; more wine is produced in Châteauneuf than the whole of the northern Rhône put together. The vineyards are bounded to the west by the Rhône river and to the east by the A7 autoroute.

Châteauneuf-du-Pape was the first ever Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée established in France, in 1932. Small, rounded rocks from the ancient river bed known as galets roulés are a key aspect of what makes Châteauneuf -du-Pape wines so distinctive, with the rocks reflecting heat back into the vines at night, thus increasing ripeness and reducing acidity.

The gloriously rich red wines, redolent of the heat and herbs of the south, are enhanced by the complexity which comes from blending several grape varieties. Fourteen are permitted for reds: Grenache, Mouvedre, Syrah, Cinsault, Vaccarese, Counoise, Teret Noir, Muscadin, Picpoul Noir, Clairette, Grenache Blanc, Rousanne, Picpoul Gris and Picardin. With red Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Grenache typically dominates with Syrah and Mourvèdre in support.

White Châteauneuf-du-Pape is becoming increasingly sought-after, even though it represents less than 10 percent of the total production. Here, five grapes are permitted: Grenache Blanc, Clairette, Roussanne, Bourboulenc and Picardin.